Ivoire de Balmain was first introduced in 1979 and has become the brand’s most well known fragrance. This August, the label will relaunch a modern interpretation of the scent as part of its new licensing agreement with InterParfums. Of course, with a new scent, or in this case an old scent made new, an ad campaign is in order. Unfortunately, the image shot by David Sims missed the mark with forum members.

In this campaign, the label presents today’s Balmain girl with her face half-concealed in the shadow of her fedora, and her naked back turned to the camera. The image is supposed to be mysterious and alluring, but instead it seems a little silly and lacks the glitz and glamour that most people would associate with today’s Balmain.

“It's like a Valentino ad, except the mansion's been repossessed and the expensive clothes have been sold, so they're making do with a fancy kitchen wall for their background and a big hat to hide the shame,” tigerrouge analyzed. “The most expensive thing about this campaign is probably the price-tag mark-up on the product. As for the mysterious allure of the model, with that pose, she looks like she'd be capable of getting lost in her own house. And I don't know about anyone else, but I certainly don't have fantasies about standing in the corner of a room with half my clothes off,” she concluded.

All I can think is, who stole her shirt?! She’s obviously not in the middle of getting dressed or undressed because the shirt would naturally go on before the fedora, or come off after the fedora. Or did she actually trade her shirt for the bottle of perfume? It doesn't look like the trade was worth the trouble. The model just looks kind of sad and vulnerable, and I would wager a guess that that’s not the intended effect of the image. "Get this perfume! It will leave you cowering in the corner!" No thanks.

TheFashionSpot's Forum Buzz editor, Chrissy Makkas, has been a member and moderator of the tFS forums since early 2005. She regularly reports on hot topics and up-to-the-minute commentary from the forums, and highlights what trendsetting members are shopping for and wearing from week to week in her popular "What We Bought" and "Forum Street Style" features. You can find ChrissyM in the forums here.